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It was a little embarrassing to see the Arsenal players celebrating like they’d just won the Champions League (CL) trophy when in fact they had just scraped into the final qualifying position for next years top European competition.
However it seems that these players, who earlier in the season looked as they were playing for themselves rather as a team, knew that it meant so much more than finishing fourth in this year’s Premier League race.
The payday that clubs receive by qualifying for the Champs League compared to that of qualifying for the Europa League (EL) are at shockingly vast ends of the spectrum.
For reaching the final qualifying spot, Arsenal will receive upwards of £30million just to play in the group stage.
If you match this to Tottenham Hotspur (who the Gunners beat to that coveted fourth spot) who will earn a paltry £3million to play in the Group Stage of the Europa League, it’s quite a nice little earner.
Another reason that club officials, managers and players have recently expressed their displeasure with playing in the Europa League is that of match timing against other competition schedules.
Teams that qualify for the Champions League play on either Tuesday or Wednesday evening, giving clubs enough recovery time before weekend league matches. Outfits that qualify for the Europa League play matches on Thursday nights, which leaves all involved very little time to get up for their weekend matches.
Away from their Champions League qualification, Arsenal (unbeknownst to most Premier League followers) performed better than they had in the year previous.
After a less than inspiring start to the season, Arsenal went on their usual ‘second half of the season’ run that has become a common occurrence in recent times.
In their final 10 league games, the Gunners took 26 league points, remained undefeated and for the first time since 2004 they notched up five league wins away from Highbury/Emirates.
Compared with last year’s statistics, Arsenal finished three league points and plus 10 goal difference to the good.
And all of this without that man, Robin Van Persie (who won the title for Manchester United).
An apparent defensive solidity formed with Per Mertesackar and Laurent Koscielny at the helm and the midfield partnership of Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsay, have given all Gunners fans hope for next season.
Add to this the large chest of funds at the ready for Arsene Wenger’s spending demands and things may just be all rosy for those at the Emirates next season.
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